The Children of Diablos
by firedude
Summary: The battle with Nergal is over, but for Mark his war is just beginning. The Children of Diablos are out to get him and he'll have to pull out all the stops if he wants to survive. Possible maturity later on. Pairing will be changing throughout.
1. Prologue

1**Chapter 1: Prologue**

**Firedude: Hey everyone, it's been a while since I've made a post in the fire emblem section. Er... if some of my fans are wondering why I discontinued Seven Mythical weapons, I can explain. I did my very best, I've been trying to attempt writing the next chapter I really have, but after taking my mind off the story for so long I can't get back into the swing of it... I'm sorry. But, I'm back into fire emblem again and I want to redeem myself with a story equally as awesome! I can only hope it lives up to my previous story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not Own the Fire Emblem Franchise or any of its characters.**

**Firedude: Here I go! Ready? Set? On with the show!**

It was night before their triumphant return to Lycia. The camp was lively and everyone was busy. Many of them sat about the camp laughing, drinking and singing away carelessly, you wouldn't have known how grim their experience had been up until then. Bartre and Wil argued loudly with each other, clearly drunk as Rebecca and Karla tried to hold them back. Sain, pretty drunk himself was hitting on Farina and offering her to go off with him to his tent. Being that she was just as drunk as him gave heavy consideration and was leading towards the idea. Kent and Fiora, their two voices of reasons were not stepping in, due to them being off alone in Kent's tent as well. Hector and Dorcas were dead locked in the middle of an arm wrestle, a small crowd forming around them cheering. A lone man in an emerald green cloak was off in his tent laying down on his mat, starring up at the ceiling, a long pipe sticking out of the corner of his mouth. He gently puffed on the end of it, savoring the tobacco's flavor. He heard his tent flap open and close swiftly and someone rush in and place something down next to him. "I found it lord Mark!" He glanced over to Canas as he motioned towards the stack of books he had placed next to him.

Mark sat up on his mat, peering over at the stack of books and raised an eyebrow. "Well? ...Which one is it Canas?" Canas adjusted his monocle and let out an embarrassed laugh. "Well that's just the thing my lord. I'm sure the information you're looking for is in one of these books... the only problem is that I'm not sure which one it is." Mark's jaw dropped, he placed down the long wood pipe and took a good look at the books. "Canas... there has to be six books here and they've all got to be over five hundred pages!" The druid began to slowly back step towards the tent flap and replied, "Yes... I'm sorry about that sir I'll help you look through the books for the information... right as soon as I get an ale!" He shot off into the camp towards one of the kegs with out another word. Mark let out a sigh and smiled, "Whatever... that man needs a drink anyway." He mumbled to himself as he ran his fingers through his messy brown hair and ran a hand over his clean shaven chin. "Well it can't be helped I suppose..." He stashed the books away into a leather bag and looked out into the camp. "Practically everyone is drunk, now is as good a time as any."

He slipped out of his tent and snuck through the camp over to Eliwood's tent. "Lord Eliwood, I-." Mark's eyes widened and he leapt a foot backward, face bright red. He calmed himself down and took another step forward, opening the flap a little and cleared his throat. "Er... my lord, is it alright for me to come in now?" There was some grumbling from inside the tent before he called, "Yeah, come in." Mark took a step inside, glancing between Eliwood who was sitting on the edge of the bed wearing only a pair of pants and Ninian next to him, wearing the bed sheets to cover herself. Mark gave her a quick nod, too embarrassed to say anything. She nodded in reply too, also too embarrassed. Mark then look over To Eliwood, "Um... I wanted to speak to you if that's alright." Eliwood scratched the back of his head and replied, "Yeah, sure... Ninian..." She smiled at Eliwood and kissed him quick on the lips before getting up and going off into another part of the large tent to get dressed. "I'm sorry about that my lord... I bet it's been a long time since you've done that." Mark laughed at this but Eliwood just glared at him. He took a seat in the nearby chair and leaned back in it.

"You're lucky though, she's a nice girl." Eliwood smiled and said, "Yes, she's amazing, you're lucky too though." Mark remained silent, face emotionless and starring off into the corner. "I don't know what you're talking about Eliwood..." He raised an eyebrow and replied, "Mark, you know what I'm talking about." He looked over at him, his expression almost to the point of glaring. "No Eliwood I don't... she's got to get me out of her head. She can do a whole lot better than me." Eliwood frowned and added, "Mark... is there something wrong?" Mark sighed and said, "Nah... I just gotta get out of here." Eliwood smiled and gave him a nod. "I figured you'd be leaving us soon, I won't hold you back." Mark gave no expression and continued, "I have a request though. When you address the people when you get back, you are not to mention me." Eliwood's eyes widened and he rose to his feet. "What!? Why not!? None of this would've been possible if not for you! You deserve every bit of praise as the rest of us!" Mark starred off again and replied, "I have my reasons..." Eliwood glared down at him. "I won't tell, as long you give me an explanation." Mark stayed silent. "Look Mark, I won't tell, but you just need to tell me about it..." Mark got up and scowled at Eliwood. "No." Eliwood glared back and replied, "It's not a big deal Mark, just tell me... you know what, each of us has talked about our past at one time or another, but you've said nothing."

Mark remained silent before walking towards the opening of the tent, before turning back towards Eliwood. "It's my business and mine alone Eliwood... its your choice whether or not you wish to speak of me... it was just a request. I will now take my leave mi'lord... good bye sir." He then walked off into the camp back to his camp. He finished backing his things away and looked at the large bags he was going to try to carry off into the night. "Man... there's no way I'm making it far..." He gave a sigh and walked back off into camp. 'I guess that means I gotta ask him for help...' He thought to himself as he found the blue haired merchant in the middle of a drunken song with Marcus and Lowen. Mark sighed and pulled him away from the two without them noticing. He pulled him off to his tent and began to splash water onto his face. "Come on Mer, time to sober up." Mer shook the water from his face, but Mark kept pouring it on him. "Lord Mark, please! I'm sober!" He coughed out as some of the water spilled down his throat as he spoke. Mark smiled a little and said, "I'm sorry, I need you though." Merlinus raised an eyebrow and looked around. "Lord Mark, I had no idea you were like that. I always doubted whether or not you were completely straight but-." Mark smacked him upside the head and said through clenched teeth. "That's not what I meant idiot! I need you to get your horse and cart and drive me somewhere!"

Merlinus looked over towards his cart and nodded. "Surely my lord! Allow me to inform Marcus and the others that we'll-." Mark grabbed him and pulled him back from walking away. "No! Merlinus this is secret!" Merlinus gave him a confused expression, then looked between him and the large bags nearby. "Lord Mark... Are you running away!?" Mark dragged the bags behind him as he pushed him along quietly towards the cart. "I just need to get going. Tomorrow, some people of ill repute are going to find out I'm still alive when Eliwood tells everyone I was the tactician. I need to get a head start before they come after me." He tossed the bags in the back of the cart and sat up front next to Merlinus. "Well... if you believe its for the best my lord." Mark gave him a nod. "I do..." Merlinus looked off down the road. "Where to then sir?" Mark shrugged and leaned back into his seat and replied, "Any nearby town please..." Merlinus nodded and silently whipped the reigns and they road off into the night. A couple hours later, they were passing by a small town when Mark raised his hand to signal him to stop as he sat up. "My lord... this town is small and dirty, certainly unfit for a man of your repute."

Mark pulled his bags out of the back and said, "Well Merlinus, until tomorrow I'm just some plain old tactician. I'll have a repute once Eliwood makes it back." Merlinus frowned as he watched him drag his bags off to the side. "So... this is really good bye?" Mark sighed and looked up at the merchant. "We'll meet again sometime, but for now yes. I'll see you around." He said smiling up at Merlinus. "Well then, good bye lord Mark." Merlinus then whipped the reigns on his cart and turned it back in the direction of the camp and drove off. Mark watched him disappear into the distance before walking back over to his bags. He grunted as he dragged them off to the inn and up to an available room. He let out a tired huff as he laid there on the bed. "Man... I need to start working out." He sat up and pulled one of the bags over to him, pulling it open, taking out one of the books Canas had given him. He began to skim through it, hoping to find something on what he was looking for. He paused for a minute, looking up from his books and over at the bags. "One... two... three... four!?" He glanced over at the bag of books on the bed and that one made six. Mark leapt up from his place sitting on the bed and pulled a knife from his back waistband. He threw it at one of the bags and it stabbed into it. A loud yelp escaped the bag and Mark glarred over at it.

"Those bags were heavy! But I remember only packing three!" A grumbling came from the bag. Guy opened the bag from the inside and pulled the knife out of his arm with a grumble. "You didn't have to throw a knife my lord!" Mark glared at him and yelled, "You didn't have to make me drag you this whole way either!" He glanced over at the other bag and pointed at it. "And whose in that one!?" Guy kicked it lightly and said, "We're caught, just get out." There was a long silence before the bag opened and Legault climbed out. "I should've known, Guy is much too clumsy to pull something like this off." Guy glared at him as Legault just smiled and bowed. "Thank you sir, it was one of my finer moments." Mark sat back on the bed after he took the knife back from Guy. "So, why are you two here?" Legault sat down on the nearby chair and smiled, "I was bored to be honest, the war is over now and I feel I should start searching for more Black Fang refuges. You travel around a lot, so I figured the best idea was to go with you." Mark sighed and glanced over at Guy who was polishing his sword off on the floor nearby. "And you? Don't you and Priscilla have something going on?" Guy frowned and placed down his sword. "She's a noble, I'm a nomad. It'd never work out. But Legault right, you travel so it'd be a good opportunity for me to search for more opponents." Mark growled and gripped his hair tight.

"God dammit! I don't wanna be stuck baby sitting you two!" Legault glared at him and shot back. "Hey! You know us! We're grateful for everything you've done for us throughout our travels, we won't be any trouble." Mark sighed and tossed each of them a book. "Well then, you're welcome to stay, but I'm putting you two to work." They gave him a skeptical expression before opening their books. "What is this?" Guy asked as he looked at the text. "Books on dark magic throughout history. Read it through until you find it talking about something called The Children of Diablos." The two looked at each other then Mark. "Mark, aren't they some kind of sick cult?" Legault asked as he watched Mark start to read. "Yes, they're old acquaintances of mine." Guy gave him and amused expression. "You're kidding right? The cult's been non existent for a century." Mark let out a small laugh and replied, "Just because you haven't heard about them for a century doesn't mean they're not there." Legault and Guy looked at each other again and then said simultaneously, "They're still alive!?" Mark nodded as Guy continued, "Why do you need to know about them though!?" Mark shrugged and replied, "Well, once Eliwood tells everyone I was the one who helped them out, they're going to be coming after me." Legault smiled and said, "Well you're not going to join them again right?" Mark remained silent for a minute before replying, "They're not coming to recruit me, they're coming to kill me." They starred at him wide eyed as he continued, "I'm going to have to look up the best way to defeat their leader if I hope to survive." Legault laughed at this and said, "Now I know you're bull shitting us. Their leader is the devil himself." Mark looked up at him with a completely serious expression.

"Exactly." There was silence in the room now. "Mark!? Kill the devil himself!?" Mark shrugged with a goofy smile. "Yup! If I don't want to die I'm going to have to. I would appreciate the help of you two if you're willing to follow me." Guy got up to his feet and began to pace around the room panicking. "St. Elimine help us! We're following a madman!" Legault sat back into his chair as he looked at the expression on Mark's face. "You're completely serious aren't you!?" Mark nodded solemnly, ignoring Guy's panic on the other side of the room. "Well, I'm in." Legault said simply as he started to read. "What!? Legault are you mad!? There's no way we can fight someone like that!" Mark smiled at him and said, "Come on, I thought you were after more worthy opponents?" Guy rolled his eyes and answered, "Yes! But the devil!? That's suicide, not a challenge! And a few seconds ago you were agreeing with me on how absurd the idea was!" He said to Legault. Legault shrugged and replied, "Mark has not steered us wrong yet. If he's confident we can win, I'll follow him into battle." Guy's jaw dropped and he fell back onto the floor again. "You... You do have a point there Legault... Mark, I'll come, but you need to answer one thing for me." Mark nodded as Guy got up the words. "You were planning to do this alone weren't you? You're only asking us to come along because we snuck here. Why not just get everyone else to help you too. You know they would agree to it after all you've done."

Mark starred out into space for a minute before answering, "I don't want them to think differently of me because of my past. Even when you two find out the truth you may leave me, despite you giving me your allegiance now." Guy sat there before replying, "You've never cared what anyone has thought of you before until now though... wait a minute, it's not everyone else you're worried about, you just don't want her to-." Mark looked over at him and cut him off, "Yes Guy, that's exactly it, alright?" Guy sighed and shook his head. "You're a crazy fool in love... I know how that feels though so I can sympathize..." He smiled and said, "Alright Mark, I agree with Legault, I trust you." Mark smiled and nodded to him. "Great, then start reading, we've got a long road ahead." As the three continued their studies, Mark thought to himself with a sad feeling deep inside of him. 'Don't worry... I'm going to resolve this all quickly so I can come see you again... I promise...'

Firedude: There you are, A short first chapter, but it's just a prologue so don't worry. The chapters to come will be longer. Flaming is welcome, just please review, your feedback inspires me to keep writing. Thanks for reading.


	2. A Year Later

1**Chapter 2: A Year Later...**

Firedude: Hey everyone, chapter two is done and ready to go. Ad reminded me in his review, all suggestions are welcome. If you have any criticisms for me or ideas go right ahead, if you want them to be private you may email me, but still please post a review.

AdConsequentiam: Thank you very much, and don't worry all suggestions are welcome. Yes, I understand what you mean by making it fit and hopefully I'll do a better job of that in this one than in Mythical Weapons. As for the uber-Chuck Norris allies, I gotta avoid that like the last story too, I think I'll be fine though. Thank you for your comments, please continue to read and give me anymore criticisms you might have.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fire Emblem franchise or any of its characters.

Firedude: Alright, Ready? Set? On with the show.

Night time had fallen over the city of Kathelet and the streets were empty. The sky was especially dark tonight, clouds covering up all the stars and the moon. The only light outside came from the torches set up outside certain buildings and houses. Even the tavern, liveliest place of any town was relatively silent. The bartender stood behind the counter polishing mugs silently as an old man sat at the bar, occasionally sipping his beer through his huge white beard. The sound of the tavern door opening and closing practically echoed throughout the bar. The two look over to see a young Sacaen man with dark red hair come in. "Heh, I figured you'd be showing up soon." The man behind the bar said as the young man took a seat next to the old man at the bar. "And what made you figure that Ley...?" The young man said in a tired voice as he laid his bow down on the counter and Ley placed a beer in front of him. "You're pretty good at hunting, so I figured you would've captured something pretty quickly. Am I right?" The young man was silent before he shook his head. "No, you're wrong. I couldn't find a single animal." The old man laughed and patted the man on the back. "I told ye Garet! Ever since that camp went up on the edge of town, they've been slaughtering all the wild life around here to feed all of 'em!" Garet took a sip of the ale in front of him before looking back at the old man. "Fine Wur, I admit it, there's not a live animal for miles!"

Ley let out a small laugh before replying, "Take it easy kid, if you're really that desperate for food I can just put it on a tab for you. Or if you're crazy enough you can try to break into their camp and get some." Garet blinked a little at the thought as he drank more of the ale. "It would be a pretty decent challenge..." Wur smacked Garet in the back of the head and yelled, "Hey! We were just kiddin' sonny! Those guys are lunatics, they'd kill you without remorse then use your corpse in some kind of ritual!" Garet rubbed the back of his head and mumbled, "Alright, alright... but who are they anyway?" Ley shrugged as he filled up another beer for Wur. "To be honest I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that they are some kind of cult from ages ago that have been coming to power again in the recent year. Who knows, maybe they were waiting for Nergal to kick the bucket before they made their move." Garet thought about it and muttered, "Maybe... what do they do though?" Wur sipped on his mug of beer before answering, "Not entirely sure mi'self, but I saw some of the sick bastards sacrificing a goat the other day on a pentagram of blood... can't be too nice of folks." Garet nodded in agreement as he finished off his beer.

"A whole camp of them over there though... and they're this close to the town." Garet picked up his bow and started to walk towards the door. "Where are you going?" Ley called after them. "To go scout, if I can I think I'll just get rid of them on my own." Ley and Wur watched with jaws dropped as he disappeared into the night. "That boy's crazy..." Wur mumbled as he finished his beer. Garet walked through the dark streets of the city until he came to the gate that lead out of town. He looked up at the large wooden door looming over him, before calling up to the guards on top. "Hey! Can you open this thing up!?" The guards looked down at him then at each other. "You've lost it mate! Them cultists are everywhere tonight and there's no way in hell we're going to risk letting them into the city!" One of them called down to him. "Well that's no problem then! I'm off to go kill them now so you won't have to worry!" Garet yelled up to them. The other guard spat down, hitting Garet square in the forehead as the first guard laughed. "A little fish like you!? I'm not going to risk my job and lives of all the citizens just because you want a crack at them cultists!" The two continued to laugh hardily as Garet grumbled and walked away. When he was out of the view of the guards, he looked around and tried to find another way over the gate.

"Psst, Hey kid." Garet looked over and saw a man in a black hooded cloak standing on the street corner. "You looking to get into that cultist base?" Garet looked around, making sure he wasn't talking to anyone else. He then took a few cautious steps towards him as he placed his hand on the handle of his bow just in case. "Yeah... so what?" The man looked around to make sure no one else was around before whispering, "Word is, the guards want those cultists out of here bad. They're planning a huge offensive and just storming in. It's going down tomorrow. Practically every available guard is going to be attacking, so with low security it'd be the perfect time to sneak out of the city. There's a spot on the South wall of the city where the cobblestones are loose, push those out and you'll get there no problem." Garet blinked a little then smiled a bit and gave him a nod. "Alright, thank you." Garet started to walk away as he though to himself, 'Well, guess this might be a little easier than I thought it'd be...' Garet was stopped though by the feeling of the man's hand on his shoulder. "Hold it." Garet looked over his shoulder to see the man beaming from under the robe's hood.

"Sorry kid, but that information wasn't free. Pay up." He demanded with an outstretched hand. Garet glared at him and began to reach for his knife as he shot back, "Look, if you're going to try something-." Before he could finish, he felt the man's fist slam into his stomach. Garet gasped out in pain, not expecting the thin man to be so strong. He fell to his knees clutching his stomach as the cloaked man pushed him over with his foot. "Sorry kid, I'll pay ya back some day." He said with a grin as he kicked him in the face, knocking him unconscious. "Shit..." Garet muttered as the pain made him succumb to sleep. The cloaked man reached into Garet's pack and pulled out a small bag of coins. He opened up the small burlap bag and poured the coins out into his hand. "300 gold... not bad." He said with a small chuckle, pocketing away the bag before walking away from his unconscious corpse. "Night kid, See ya around."

Garet woke up in the street the next morning in a daze. He sat up as he clutched his stomach, still throbbing in pain. He groaned a bit and shook his head, hoping the pain would clear up quicker and he'd wake up some more. He someone splash a bucket of water on him and the laughter of some nearby men. He looked up at a burly man and a small crowd of his buddies surrounding them. "Get off my store front bum!" The man growled as he kicked Garet off to the side. He grumbled and pulled himself up off the floor, limping away. 'Bastards... whatever, I'll deal with them later. I should probably get some supplies from Ley before-.' His thought drifted off as he saw men running by with bucket of water and yelling coming from down the block. "Hurry! This way! It's starting to get out of control." Garet stood there watching them disappear down the street. 'That's where... oh no!' Garet sprinted down the block so fast, he passed by the men carrying the buckets. He came to a screeching halt in front of the inn and starred up at the flaming structure with fearful eyes. "Oh no... Ley! Wur!"

He yelled into the flaming structure. "Fuck! They're probably still in there!" Garet charged towards the front door and began to push the flaming rubble out of the way, despite the pain. "Hey! What the hell are you doing!?" He felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders and pulled him back with ease. "Let me go you bastard! They're still in there!" The strong hands held him down in place as he struggled underneath his unwanted savior. "Listen to me! Whoever was in there when the fire started is already dead! All the alcohol in there started exploding when it lit up! I'm sorry but there's nothing you can do!" Garet finally stopped squirming underneath him and a couple tears rolled down his cheek, in show of sorrow for his lost friends. The guy got up and outstretched a hand to Garet to help him up. Garet looked up to see who the man was. He was a scruffy looking man with long brown hair and a matching long beard. His green cloak was ragged, old and looked as though it had seen a lot of battles. He clasped the man's hand and he pulled him up to his feet. The man lead him over to a nearby café and sat him down at a table outside. The man sat down across from him in a lounging posture in the chair. "Sorry bout what happened kid. I've seen a lot of my friends die too." Garet glared up at him, tear stains still visible. "Who the hell are you anyways?"

The man sighed and cracked his neck. "The name's Trig. I'm a wanderer..." He spotted the bow and arrows on Garet's back and the knife at his side. He noticed his skin was also tanned and his clothing was clearly Sacaen. He raised an eyebrow at this and leaned forward a bit in his chair as though he was interested. "You're a nomad huh? Lemme guess, you were inspired by the tales of the three lords' army and their heroics against the villain Nergal. So you left your tribe to wander the lands in search of challenges to your skill and a master... Am I right?" Garet's jaw was dropped and he was able to stutter out, "A-Are you a psychic!?" Trig sighed and sat up straight in his chair. "Nah you dumbass, that's just what all these new inexperienced travelers are setting out to do." Garet glared at him, but it slowly turned into a smile before he answered, "I left my tribe in the North to seek out a teacher for myself. I've developed a lot of my skills on my own, but I still feel like I need help. So I felt like there was only one person I can seek out." Trig let out a small laugh at this. "Lemme guess again, you thought that the only person whose the best to teach was your idol from the lords' army? Well who is it then? Wil for your bow? Or Jaffar with that knife of yours?"

Garet gave him a puzzled look before answering, "What? No, I feel I'm good enough with a bow and knife, its just to defend myself out here. I want to be a tactician!" Trig was silent for a minute as took a flask off his hip and took a drink. "Really... and who are you looking for to teach you that?" Garet grinned and replied, "Who else!? The superb mind, Mark!" Trig was silent again for a few seconds before he broke out into laughter. "Are you serious!? Eliwood said himself that he was the one who lead them tactically." Garet glared at him, standing up and slamming his hands down on the table. "No! I don't know why Lord Eliwood would lie, but the citizens towns they passed through have said themselves that they met Mark and they saw his renown skills as a tactician." Trig laughed and got up from his chair. "I don't know what you're talking about kid. I was in Badon when their army was passing through there, there was no tactician amongst their ranks." Garet got up from his chair too and took a couple steps towards him. "He was practically a legend even before he helped out the lords'!" Trig looked back at him as he took out a long wood pipe and poured a substance into the end of it. "Take it from me when I tell ya kid, legends are usually bad news." He lit up the substance and began to lightly puff on it. "Besides, it couldn't have been him. He died three years ago in skirmish in Sacae."

He turned and began to walk away from Garet. "That's a load of bull and you know it! I'll find him!" He called after Trig as he got farther away. Trig just waved back at him as he called back. "I'd be more worried about the people who burnt down the tavern." Garet thought it over before he darted back over to Trig and stood in front of him to stop him from walking any farther. "You know who it was!? And why should I be worried?" Trig nodded and pointed Southward. "The cultists, who else is psychotic enough to do something like that in the middle of the day? And I'm just saying if I were you I'd be worried, because no matter how psychotic those bastards are, they always have an agenda." Garet stood there shocked, looking up at Trig who had on a completely serious expression. "They... They're after me!? Why!?" Trig shrugged as he walked past him again as he took another puff of the pipe. "Beats me, why not go ask them yourself?" Trig then disappeared around the corner and left Garet standing there alone. "I think I will..." He muttered angrily as he ran towards the section of the South wall the cloaked man talked about last night.

After pushing on a few of the cobblestones, sure enough he found the loose section of the wall and pushed the small space open and crouched through. The town guards hadn't made their move yet, which was good for Garet for he wanted to capture a cultist to question. He spotted the large wooden fort in the distance and began to move swiftly towards it, making sure to use the bushes and trees to hide himself. Once he was close enough, he peered over towards the top of the fort wall and spotted some archers patrolling. 'Shit... I could probably get one or two, but then they'd spot me and I'm done for...' He saw the gates of the town starting to open. 'Damn! They must be starting to make their move. I've got to make my move before-.' Suddenly, a black blur shot up the side of the wall and straight up at an archer. The archer's neck was suddenly sliced open and blood sprayed out. The blur stopped next to the dying archer and Garet recognized him. 'It's the bastard who robbed me!' The archer next archer over noticed what happened and was getting ready to shoot when the cloaked man shot over and ripped the archer's stomach open with the two knives he had in hand. The archer on the far side of the wall was aiming carefully at the cloaked man's back and was about to fire. 'Shit!' Garet quickly shot an arrow at the other archer, getting him right in the side of the head, killing him instantly. The cloaked man looked from the dead archer to Garet in the distance and grinned before he disappeared down into the base.

'Dammit, someone's beaten me there already. Maybe I can still grab a live one before he kills them all though...' He thought to himself as he sprinted towards the defenseless wall of the fort. As he began to scale the side wall, he saw the force of guards moving towards the fortress in a steady march. 'Looks like I've got a time limit, I better keep going." He finished scaling the wall and snuck off towards the staircase that lead down into the main base. He peered down into the fortress below and saw the cultists readying their defense. They were all dressed in black with red tribal paint, that was most likely blood. A shirtless man in black pants climbed up on top of a large stone table, his entire torso and head covered with satanic designs drawn out in blood. He raised a spear above his head and let out a loud sadistic laugh as the rest of the cultists cheered on. "The Children of Diablos shall spread the word of our lord and the blood of the innocent!" Garet raised an eyebrow at their behavior and shook his head. "Theses guys are freaks... What the hell could they want with me?" He silently crept off into an empty storage room and watched outside, waiting for someone to get too close to the room.

After a few seconds he felt a knife to his throat and someone whisper, "Boo." Garet didn't even get a chance to scream, he was pulled back into the shadows as someone else shut the door and locked it. Garet struggled in the mans grasp, trying to get out when a lantern turned on in the middle of the room. The man let Garet go and pushed him forward, making him stumble. Garet whipped out his knife and pointed it over towards the black cloaked man. "Whoa, whoa, calm down kid. I'm sorry bout that but I had to make sure you didn't scream." He tossed Garet a small bag and grinned from under the hood. "Here's your money back, guess I owe you from saving my life." Garet looked through the bag quickly to make sure all his money was still there before slipping the bag away into his pack. "Who are you!?" Garet threatened, pointing his knife at him, but knowing deep down that the man was way too skilled for him to handle. He chuckled and pulling his hood down revealing his face. He walking into the lantern's light, allowing Garet to see his facial features. Garet was star struck. "W-Wait! I-I-I've seen your face before! Y-You're the Hurricane!" Legault laughed and patted the top of his head. "Legault will do just fine kid. What's your name?"

Garet straightened his posture as though he was standing at attention. "G-Garet sir! Are you here on your own?" Another figure stepped out into the light with an amused smile on. "Being called by a nickname when spotted? That's embarrassing." Garet's jaw dropped and smiled. "The sword saint!" Guy raised an eyebrow and gave him a skeptical expression as Legault laughed. "Really? Our actual names don't actually circulate, just our reputations?" Garet laughed nervously and bowed slightly. "Sorry, I meant Guy." Legault finished laughing and exclaimed, "This I think has been the most amusing reaction we've seen in the past year." Garet blushed a little in embarrassment as the sound of heavy knocking sounded throughout the room. "Hey! There's someone in here!" The door began to be heavily knocked upon as the cultists tried to break it down. "Shit..." Legault muttered as he drew his knives and Guy his sword. "Don't just stand there! Get ready!" Guy shouted to Garet. He blinked a few times and stuttered, "I-I can fight with you!?" Legault glanced over at him and grinned. "It's either that or die." Garet quickly drew his bow and got an arrow ready. 'This is so awesome! I actually get to fight alongside these guys! Maybe it'll be easier finding Mark than I thought!' His excitedness started to slip away though as the door started to break in and he realized this wasn't fun and games, he could die here if he wasn't serious.

Firedude: Not a great ending, but that's chapter two for ya. Please review, flames are welcome. I'll have chapter three ready soon hopefully.


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